When to Over and Under Expose?

Hello, I have a few questions for the experienced wedding photographers out there! I've recently purchases some equipment so that i can start a wedding photography business on the side. I have some experience with composition and portraiture, however I am slightly lacking when it comes to difficult unpredictable lighting situations .

In a church that is not well lit and a flash is not permited, how exactly would i expose the photo (canon 30D). I know that i would need to go to a very high ISO and lowest shutter speed but would that be enough?Wont the image blur?

What about cloudy days that are overcast and dark? Do i underexpose this shot or overexpose? I have a Sekonic light meter so i know i would need to use it, but would it be enough?

how would i capture an image if the subject is very dark and the background is very bright....like a shilouete of a bride in a doorway looking out, how would i set my cameras settings? To underexpose or overexpose?

How do you capture your subjects with a sunset in the background without getting a shilouette effect?

As far as CF cards go, do i need to shoot in RAW or can JPEG Fine be just as pleasing? im not CS2 savy at all!

Basically i need some common suggestions for these difficult lighting situations so that i may get the best possible pictures. If you could share some input on your experience and throw in anything else you may feel i need to know, it would be like gold to me!

Ericka
elestiallove26@yahoo.c​om

Welcome to POTN

In a dark church use a tripod or an IS lens like the Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS. You'll likely be at ISO800 or 1600 to get 1/50th of a second. You might get away with 1/20th or 1/30th when people are standing still, 1/50th is better, and 1/100th is even better if there's enough light.

For all other situations make sure you expose for the important part of your image - usually the faces. If you want to capture a bright background you need to light the people yourself. I shoot on manual since I find the Sekonic with help from the histogram to be far suprior to the in camera meter for weddings.

RAW/JPG is a hotly debated issue, but I don't think anyone will argue with my saying that someone who doesn't understand has to use RAW. RAW gives you a safety net so you can recover from poorly exposed shots. You need to learn to use photoshop, get the Scott Kelby book "Adobe CS2 for photographers" and the Bruce Fraser book "Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS2". Between them you'll learn enough that you can learn the rest yourself. You'll need at least 8GB of good quality compactflash cards - avoid lexar, I recommend Sandisk Ultra II or Kingston (the pro/blue ones are what I have). Avoid cheap cards, and lexar seem to be a bit spotty.

My final thought is that you are in no way qualified or experienced enough to attempt a wedding on your own. Doing a wedding without full confidence in your ability to expose under any circumstances is irresponsible. You have to be able to take photos in bright sunlight (from in front, behind, and to the side of people), in dimly light receptions, in pitch black (just in case, you'll learn something doing it), with strongly lit backgrounds, etc. Until then I suggest finding someone you can work with and learn from until you have the ability, skills, and confidence to tackle it yourself.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for the information! I am currently looking for a photographer to be an assistant for first before i even consi'der going solo. This info me gives me a strong base to practice from which i appreciate! By the way, what is histogram? Ive never heard of it. And also, a canon 580flash seems to be the most favored amoung wedding photographers, this flash would be enough for a wedding right?

Ericka

well if you find that the highest ISO and the slowest possible handheld shutter is too dark and you are not allowed or dont want to use flash, then the only thing you can do is to put your camera on a tripod, set the shutter even lower and use a remote to avoid shake.

Cloudy and overcast days.. well it all depends. Check your cameras suggestions.. but it always depends on what look you are going for. The right exposure is not always the right creative exposure. Get there early, do a few test shots and important.. practise on other days, without there being a wedding. A cloudy day doesnt mean you have to overexpose, you might just need a slower shutter and wider aperture than on a bright day.

As for the dark person and the bright background.. depends on what you want. Do you want only a silouette? Then expose for the background, that will keep your subject dark.

Do you want the subject to be visible? Then you need to overexpose (or meter the settings on the subject) to bring out the subject over the bright background. Does that make sense?

Histogram tutorial

You have the equiptment for wedding photography, but please dont start them right away. You dont know the basics yet, and a single bad wedding can make or break your reputation. Had I seen any bad images from a photographer I wouldnt pay them.

Basically your question would be the equal to a mechanic that didnt know what a metric or standard bolt is. Would you be happy with his work?

I'd recommend "Understanding Exposure" by Amphoto Books. I recently purchased and it was worth every penny.

I'd also like to echo Tim's book recommendations and I'd also like to add in there Understanding Exposure by Brian Peterson.

I'll look into those book thanks guys!

<<In a church that is not well lit and a flash is not permited, how exactly would i expose ...>>

[rant] Why can't these mindless ministers understand that EVERYONE ELSE in the audience will be constantly firing their P&S cameras during the and not turning off their flash... so why handicap the photographer who has been retained by the couple to shoot the wedding?!?!?! Did God fail to give them a brain???

I don't much like flash for ceremonies anyway, except maybe bounced if their's an appropriate ceiling.

Wilt, the reason I was given for my shoot (first wedding btw) was b/c the last photog was right up in their faces and was blasting away. He also said this guy was making such a distraction that he almost stopped the ceremony!

I REALLY wished he would have let me use flash as this church had zero exterior windows and the only lights were two spotlights on the bride, groom, and minister

So cerveza, how did the pics come out? Did you just get far off picture or were you able to get the ring exchange photographer without a flash?